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Tourism: the alternatives
Sofia Echo Com, Elena Kodinova, 08.08.2003
BULGARIA's supply of luxurious hotels and package tours has been augmented by alternative types of tourism catering to all ages and tastes. The mountain region in the southwest of the country often hosts musical events involving foreign and Bulgarian participation. A year on from its last successful rock concert featuring stars from the 70s and 80s, the picturesque town of Bansko, at the foot of the Pirin Mountains, is organising another big concert event with even more stars. The big event is on Saturday August 16, where stars from the 80s and 90s will shine again on stage. The Retro-Party Star Show has been preceded by the Bansko Jazz Fest, which united some of the country's best performers in the genre. The sixth International Bansko Jazz Fest 2003 opened on August 8 with some of the most prominent musicians from all over the world participating on its stage. Guests from eight countries have been performing at the open stage in the centre of Bansko. The seven-day event will attract high-class musicians and 1000 spectators per show each night. The opening night featured Bulgarian jazz singer Vassil Petrov, who sang the Frank Sinatra's New York, New York, accompanied by Blagoevgrad's Big Band. This will not be the only event at that time of the year in Pirin since the different nations and individuals are also meeting for the eighth Pirin Sings (Pirin Pae) gathering this weekend to perform what they have learned from folklore courses in their own countries. For two days 3500 participants will perform traditional folk songs, stories, instrumentals, rituals and children's games on eight stages in the Predela area (Pirin mountain). Some of the most prominent Bulgarian and international jazz musicians have been participating in this year's festival. The performers will include Bulgarian National Radio's Big Band, Vili Kazasyan's Band, Plovdiv Big Band, Sofia Dixie Swing, the Simeon Shterev quartet and Dirty Purchase. Bulgarian jazz stars Vassil Petrov, Kamelia Todorova and Stefka Onikyan will play in a concert celebrating Louis Armstrong's centenary. Musicians from Israel, Russia, Greece, Germany, France, Holland and Italy will also perform. Nearby Kurdjali is a historical and beautiful region suitable for the now traditional festival held there in the beginning of September at the Perperikon medieval monastery, situated 22km north of Kurdjali, in southern Bulgaria. From the 10th to the 14th century it was part of the famous town of Hyperperakion. Its floor is covered by a marble mosaic in the opus sectile style. In the past centuries the region was a centre of national and international power. In the sacred Thracian Palace of Perperikon, Alexander the Great gained his faith to conquer the world. The palace and its fortress were the capital of the Odris Kingdom, the strongest state of the Thracians. It is the perfect place to display the folklore of the various regions attending the dance evenings. Apolonia Art Festival Sozopol The Apolonia Art Festival is the first deliberate attempt at cultural tourism in Bulgaria - and still one of the best choices if you are looking for that kind of experience. Its debut was in 1991 and since then it has been held annually at the end of the summer season in the small picturesque resort town of Sozopol on the Black Sea cost. This year it opens on August 31 with a concert of the Pirin Folk Ensemble. The organisers have included more than 60 events in the programme. Three theatre performances will be staged for the first time at the festival. The first, "Phone Booth", is directed by four Balkan directors and is the result of an international culture project. Galin Stoev, a fashionable young theatre director will show his version of Romeo and Juliet for the first time. The other debut performance is a play by Yon Fosse, called Winter. There will be jazz and fashion shows at the ancient amphitheatre in Sozopol, chamber music and book premieres. Sound and Light Veliko Turnovo The audio-visual performance Sound and Light is a wonderful attraction. Similar shows are performed only at the pyramids in Egypt. It is staged in the tsar's castle in the old Bulgarian capital of Veliko Turnovo. The audience sit at a 100 metre distance from the medieval fortress, which is bathed in light and laser effects and dramatic music describes different events in the history of the country - the battles against the Muslim armies, the years of the Turkish rule and the revolution against it. The music is especially composed for the show. The premiere of Sound and Light was in 1985 and for years it was shown regularly every night during the summer season. Now it is performed only on order by tourist groups. One performance costs 360 leva plus VAT. Postcards, capturing the beautiful scene are sold everywhere in Veliko Turnovo. Thracia Summer Chamber Music Festival Plovdiv In 1997, music conductor Nayden Todorov (pictured, left) founded the International Thracia Summer Chamber Music Festival in Plovdiv. On his website, he explains how he first had the idea in 1992, when the 18-year-old conductor spoke with the head of the Plovdiv offices of the Borghese Foundation, Rafaele Borghese, about creating a new festival in the summer months when the city's cultural life comes to a virtual standstill. This year the festival is being held for the tenth time. It opened on August 3 in the Balanov House with a concert by pianist Viktor Chuchkov, and will close on August 17. There are three more concerts left to be shown in Plovdiv - on August 10, 12 and 17, one in Stara Zagora on August 9 and one in Smolian on August 13. The programme for the concerts includes Mozart, Shumen, Miguel de Faya. The performers are some of the finest Bulgarian classical musicians, including the pianist Romeo Smilkov and Valia Dervenska on the violin. The only foreign performer is the famous Austrian violinist Mario Hossen. see source
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